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December 7, 2014

A festively fabulous 1950s recipe for Coconut Candy Cane Cake

When my family meet sup for a meal, there are a lot of diverse dietary needs (most medically based) amongst my relatives and I that must be taken into consideration. Though there will always be some types of dishes that no everyone can partake of, when cooking for a crowd of my nearest and dearest, I do really like to create recipes that can safely be eaten by as many folks as possible. And certainly at no time of the year does that ring more true than this month, with the merriment and excitement of Christmas starting to hit its stride.

I'm always on the prowl for tasty, crowd pleasing, easy to prepare foods that I can bring to, or prepare and serve at home for, holiday get-togethers, and when I happened upon this fabulously fun 1950s Coconut Candy Cane Cake earlier this year on Flickr, my eyes lit up my Christmas bulbs! With a few tweaks (using gluten-free flour or a GF cake mix and swapping eggs for an egg substitute), it's something that both myself and most of my relatives can safely eat and that makes it an instant winner in my books.

With December 25th just nineteen days away and plenty of wonderful social occasions on my busy calendar this month, I'll be whipping up this great vintage Christmas cake soon for at least one of them and hope that it proves to be every bit as delicious and appealing as it looks.

{There's no need for a fancy cake pan to create this festively shaped dessert. Just cut and arrange squares, frost and adorn them with coconut, and you'll have an instantly eye-catching, completely Christmas season perfect vintage cake to bake and take (or serve) anytime this season. Image source.}

The recipe above suggests using boiled (aka, 7-minute) frosting, but as it traditionally contains egg whites, I'll be skipping it in favour of butter cream or another egg-free frosting myself. Aside from that and the two tweaks mentioned earlier, I won't be doing a thing to this wonderful vintage Christmas cake recipe - short of tucking into a big piece of it that is!

You could easily tint some shredded coconut green, too, if desired, to create the look of an iconic three-colour candy cane. If coconut isn't a hit with your family, you could easily skip it and use coloured sprinkles/sanding sugar or icing instead to produce the desired candy cane look. Small candies, such as mini jujubes or mints, could also be put to work in the same capacity.

I love that this vintage holiday season cake looks fabulously impressive, but isn't time consuming or challenging to make in the slightest (always an extra big plus at this time of the year). Partner that with the fact that I can serve a slice to just about everyone in my family, and I'm one seriously happy Christmas time baker! :)

26 comments:

I can definitely relate to the challenge of creating a menu when there are a range of dietary needs to consider. I'm normally in charge of menu planning and have to come up with recipes that don't contain any sugar, meat, peppers, dairy, artificial colouring, gluten, and also coconut (coconut is a migraine trigger for me). It doesn't leave much choice, especially in the dessert department. I usually make about 5 different desserts, such that each person has a choice of 2 or 3. Making labels for everything helps too as I can write things like "sugar-free" so no one gets confused over what they can or cannot eat.

Awwww..So uber-festive! :)Something like that would cheer anyone up. To tell the truth, I'm crazy about "Schaum" - egg whites beaten with caster sugar, until those gorgeous peaks appear. As a matter of fact, I must admit: I don't need anything else if this thing is around. AND, if you add a bit of grounded walnuts - I will be the happiest camper around. :)

yeah, coconut cake is always a good idea ...if it comes as a candy cane or a easter egg ... ;)my hubby is baking pies the whole sunday for work (he works as a chef) ... all the delicious smells make me hungry all day. yum. maybe i soud bring up the coconut cake idea ...

I completely appreciate the difficult of serving food for multiple dietary requirements - although thankfully it doesn't affect me daily. I've got one close friend who is vegan, one who is lactose intolerant and I'm gluten intolerant as you know. I'm dreading the day I ever have to cook for all three of us! But it sounds as though this cake would do it for Christmas... and it's so pretty! I've never seen anything else quite like it, which seems strange as it's not the most complex thing in the world. Good find! CC x

I actually loving cooking with restrictions. It may seem counterintuitive, but it makes me so much more creative! I was vegan for quite a while, and it always felt like an accomplishment when I would cook for them and they wouldn't notice there weren't any animal products involved. I'm sure it's tougher when it's something you have to worry about all the time, so I'm sure it's nice to find an easy to modify recipe like this that will suit your needs.

I can't wait to see pictures of your lovely creation. You could also use a bunt cake pan and green coloring to make it look like a wreath? Maybe? This time of year I come across so many wonderful baking recipes it can be hard to choose the 1 to make. I want to make them all, but only having one holiday gathering, there can be only one. I love that you share ideas for modifying the pattern without changing the overall recipe. Thank you.

That's a terrific idea! Wreaths are one of my favourite holiday season elements (not just at Christmas, but for Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, and pretty much any other time of the year, too). So true! There are only so many hours in the day and meals anyone can tuck into, yet the web presents us with a truly unending array recipes that look so good it almost seems like a crime to not find a way to weave them into the menu. Thankfully, for those that don't happen this time around, there's always the prospect of next year. :)

This is cute and looks tasty and easy! Perfect. I always feel a bit sad when I see shaped cake tins (even though they are cute) because I grew up in a time when you just made rectangular or round cakes and cute them into shape! The Woman's Weekly childrens birthday cake book that I grew up with is extremely well worn, and I can turn through its pages and point out all the cakes I had and for what birthday!

I just might have to make this! I understand about the watching out for allergies. When I was younger I had allergy to milk, but oddly grew out of it when I was about 11 or 12. A lot of people I know are not fans of coconut, but the more for me!

Isn't it interesting how, much like raisins, some people can't stand coconut and others (like you and I) can't get enough of it. I almost always have at least a couple bags to hand and love using it in everything from salads to pies, muffins to as a soup topping (it's sooo good on squash, pumpkin, and carrot soups in particular).

It's wonderful that you grew out of your milk allergy. I hope dearly that it never returns.

I hope it is a roaring success for you, dear gal! I'm quite under the weather myself at the moment, but hope to start my baking next week, if possible and am really looking forward to it. I've always adored those days when there are three or four (or more!) baked goods, candies, or other scrumptious treats on the go at once.

I'm Jessica, a lifelong lover of all things antique and vintage, especially those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

This blog is my visual scrapbook in which I record and share my thoughts on the multitude of sources, people and products that inspire and feed a modern gal's addiction to the past. I also post about the vintage clothes, hairstyles and make-up looks that I adore wearing.

Stay a spell and have a blast as we explore the incomparably fantastic world of vintage history and fashion together.

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